When looking at healthcare security officers, one of the biggest topics of conversation is training. How do you train the officers? What do you train the officers on? What level of certification do the officers receive? Is the training effective? These are all questions that may be commonly asked following a critical incident, amongst a survey or inspection, or when speaking about a hospital’s security department. From department to department, these questions may have varying responses, officers trained to different levels and standards within an organization, outsourced training versus in house, computer-based training versus in person, or any combination of these.
The Huntsville Hospital Health System’s Security Department has standardized this process by establishing their own in-house Security Training Department and implementing their very own Security Officer Academy, known as the P.R.I.D.E Academy. The P.R.I.D.E Academy holds two very strong meanings, the first being the self and departmental pride that is instilled in each security officer as they progress through the course, as well as the acronym “Professionalism, Responsibility, Integrity, Determination and Effectiveness,” core values that are instilled into each candidate attending the academy.